The University of Pennsylvania Obstetrics & Gynecology Core medical student clerkship focuses on the health care of women during the reproductive and post-reproductive years. All medical students at University of Pennsylvania Medical School spend 6 weeks on the core rotation and enrollment is exclusively offered to Penn medical students. The course emphasizes care of the pregnant woman, normal labor and delivery, common obstetrical and gynecologic problems, preventive care, screening for and treatment of gynecologic malignancies, as well as family planning and sexuality. The attending and resident faculty at HUP as well as our affiliate sites are dedicated to education of medical students. We all hope that you enjoy the time you spend on our rotation and appreciate the broad educational clinical experience available to you through Obstetrics and Gynecology.

On the core rotation, medical students are assigned to one of four hospitals/practices for their clinical experience. In general, students spend equivalent time on labor & delivery, the gynecological services, prenatal and gynecology ambulatory clinics. During the rotation, students return weekly to the University of Pennsylvania for didactic sessions.

Clerkship Requirements and Evaluations

During the rotation, medical students report on and receive feedback about their clinical experience in a variety of ways. Students are provided with feedback cards which they share with teaching attending and residents as a way to formalize and document feedback on several aspects of student clinical performance. In addition, students record patient encounters and clinical discussions in an on line format to aid in evaluation of clinical experience at various sites and to assure individual student exposure to key clinical experiences on their rotation. Students also receive formal feedback on presentation and physical exam skills via their “mini CEX” cards.

Formal student evaluation and course grading is based on evaluations submitted by preceptors, residents and other attendings who have had contact with individual students during the rotation. In addition, all students take a “shelf” Ob Gyn board exam at the end of the rotation. While the shelf exam contributes only 25% to the student’s final grade, minimum scores are required to qualify for a “pass” and an “honors” grade. For more detailed information, please see syllabus.